Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Roast Chicken with Chestnuts and Brussels Sprouts


Saturday 3 December
We got a lovely little fryer chicken from Charles Bare, dried it thoroughly, sprinkled it with salt, and roasted it on convect at 450ยบ; it was done in around 45 minutes, so we drizzled our own rosemary oil on it and let it rest in the warm oven for 15-20 minutes until the vedge was done.

Did I mention the vedge?  We had bought some American chestnuts at the Farmers' Market; they're smaller and lighter in color than the European kind you get in stores.  We were inspired to do a classic braise: chestnuts, brussels sprouts, and bacon. 
Holt cut the chestnut shells in an X and boiled the nuts until they could be peeled, about 3-5 minutes.  Further tips are here.
When it was time to prepare dinner, we fried up 1/8 lb. of chopped bacon, then braised it and the chestnuts in some chicken stock in the pan.  Finally some halved brussels sprouts and an herb bouquet of parsley and thyme went into the stock, and when the sprouts were done, so were we. 

Verdict: good, but the chestnuts were still chewy, so next time we'll let them boil or braise a good deal longer before the brussels sprouts go in.

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